My New Raleigh Professional
 

I was at a bike swap meet this weekend and picked up this frame and misc parts. I wish it were still in its original livery, but it is still a beautiful bike and the powder coat is really shiny. Serial number says it's a 1972. It has the fancy lugs (Hayden?) like the one on Sheldon's site. The assembly work on this bike is far superior to that on a 1976 Competition I had. I didn't get all the original Campy components, but you can see what I did get. The Zeus headset is as smooth as any I've ever felt. I'm impressed. I can't wait to get this bike built up and on the road! I plan to collect all the right Campagnolo parts for it but in the mean time I'll build it with some vintage parts I have or can get very cheaply. Here are the pieces I have on hand and plan to use for it:

• Campagnolo Record front derailleur
• TA Cyclotouriste cranks
• Maillard CXC pedals
• Sugino BB cups with Stronglight spindle
• Belleri bars
• NOS SunTour Superbe levers
• MAFAC Racer brakes or Weinmann Vainqueurs
• SunTour Cyclone GT rear derailleur

I'm not sure yet about the wheels. I have a nice set of Super Champion rims on NOS Pelissier hubs but I run them on my commuter. I can swap them back and forth for now but I think I am or will be in the market for appropriate vintage wheels soon.

I'm pretty pumped about this bike!

Cheers,
Karl

Nice find!

I have a 74 Professional. I really like the more ornate lugs like the ones on your bike.

Hey, thanks! I was really looking for a bike with Nervex Professional lugs, but these are so cool I couldn't pass it up. I do like that fastback seat stay design that Raleigh used, too. Were the ornate lugs a 1972 only thing, then?

Karl

Yeah, that's nice; not the typical Pro lugs at all. I have a 1970, but I love the mink color. The red and chrome looks sweet. Get a set of authentic decals from Greg Softly on ebay and baffle the collectors!

BTW, I think Zeus is every bit as good as Campagnolo on most parts.

Wow! Looks like my size (jealous).

I really like this frame and the finishing looks better than most Raleigh, like better than any I have ever seen.

Oh, and you are using super champion rims on a commuter?! Those are hard to find and becoming exceedingly rare. Why not get some nice Asian wheels for the commuter and use those on this? That would seem the most economical to me.

Stunning!

Looks good to me!

Very nice! Good luck with it. :thumb:

Thanks guys! Sorry I've been missing on this thread. I've been collecting bits and pieces for this bike over the last month. I'm getting close to being able to put it together. The one thing not done yet is the wheels.

Hey Cyclotoine, I missed this post. Sorry!

Yeah, I couldn't believe how much better finished the frame was than the other Raleighs I've seen. I had a 1976 Competition that I sold to pay for this bike and the finishing was fairly poor. This one looks like it was built by a real frame builder. Who knows?

Yeah, I know... I do feel kind of bad about it, but I got them so ridiculously cheaply that they were actually cheaper to run on the commuter than anything else. I just bought a pair of polished finish Sun Cr-18 rims to run on this Raleigh. I am trying to decide what hubs to run with them. I also picked up another Super Champion rim (used, but barely) for $10 recently. I have a set of Normandy Sport (the regular ones) hubs polished in excellent condition, but if I'm going to take the trouble to build another set of wheels it seems like I should run something nicer. Depends on what happens with my budget. Maybe I should sell some parts to pay for hubs:eek:

Karl

awesome bike, what'd you give for it?

Bump for fellow raleigh owner. :)

Nice lugs! and I love the chromed fork and stays!

Be Happy
$

Well, I paid a fair price for it. It wasn't cheap, but I think I did well. Definitely the nicest bike I've ever owned. I'm trying to accumulate parts to do it justice. I'd feel lame putting crappy stuff on it. Here are some photos of some of the NOS bits to go on it.

They include:

• SunTour Superbe brake levers
• Gipiemme spindle (with original price tag!)
• TA crank bolts

http://bp2.blogger.com/_lVFA-JOlfx8/...0-h/parts2.jpg
http://bp1.blogger.com/_lVFA-JOlfx8/...0-h/parts3.jpghttp://lh5.ggpht.com/relistan/SGZTkO...jpg?imgmax=800
http://bp2.blogger.com/_lVFA-JOlfx8/...0-h/parts2.jpghttp://bp1.blogger.com/_lVFA-JOlfx8/...0-h/parts3.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/relistan/SGZTwU...jpg?imgmax=800
I'm short a hood for the levers, but I'll buy some copies on eBay if I don't find one locally. That one is NOS and very nice. I have some more NOS parts coming in the mail, including French thread Olimpic quill road pedals to fit the TA Pro 5 Vis cranks. I'll post photos when I have more parts.

Karl

NOS Olimpic French thread pedals arrived yesterday. These are really nice! In some ways nicer than the MKS Sylvan road pedals. There are no obvious casting lines on these pedals. They do have plastic dust caps, though, which is too bad. Everything else about them is really top notch. These will look good on the bike! Here are a couple shots:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/relistan/SGgd3-...JPG?imgmax=800
http://lh4.ggpht.com/relistan/SGgd4Q...JPG?imgmax=800

Made in Spain... don't see that all that often (except Zeus).

Karl

Nice! I'm waiting right now to hear if one I just saw is for sale. It's a near NOS blue/silver bike. When it was found, it had a hub odometer reading 35 miles. Not a scratch on it. I was talking with the shop owner, and it had been stored at the shop since February. Man, I would love to finally have a Pro, they're very nice machines!,,,,BD

BD, that sounds like a major score! Go for it, man!

So I made a major score today, myself. I've been on the hunt for a Normandy Luxe Competition gold label rear hub to match the front I scored the other day. Alas, no joy. Until today! I nabbed a pair of Luxe golds at a local shop for a whopping great deal. And British thread, no less! So now I have a spare front with oil/grease fitting. But I'll keep it and keep my eyes open. I'm sure it's mate will show up some day.

Here they are pre-polishing (which I'll start on today):

http://lh5.ggpht.com/relistan/SGqk-P.../LuxeComp1.JPG

Karl

Very nice! I have a 1972 Carlton Professional which is identical. In fact the Carlton Pro and Raleigh Pro were built on the same line - just different paint. Don't see many with those lugs. I think that was the only year that both the Carlton and Raleigh Pro used them.

Here's a little teaser to get you motivated:

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...a/81fdeb05.jpg

I bought the bare frame a few years ago, and built it up with as many correct components as I could find. I have finally found the correct size 3ttt stem for comfort. I love Blue Mink!

Nice bike, Rabid Koala! I love that original livery. Blue mink is very very cool. Some day mine might wear original colors again, but the powder coat is very well done and it's not in the budget right now, so I'll leave it alone!

Update on parts:

I have acquired a correct 1972 Campagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailleur. It's not in museum condition, but it should be able to make it presentable. Once I have it cleaned up I'll post photos.

If I can get it separated from the hub (morons...) I have a Regina freewheel to go on the bike

Anyone have a Nuovo Record front derailleur cage that isn't losing its chrome? I have a derailleur in otherwise great shape but the cage is pealing in one spot.

Karl

Rear hub is polished. Didn't get the barrel up to a mirror shine like I prefer because I didn't want to damage the gold sticker. It looks pretty good, though. Compare to previous photo. :) The front is still to be polished.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/relistan/SG0nKe...JPG?imgmax=800

Man! I'm Salivating! If that thing was a 47cm I'd be wrestling you for it.. ;)

Getting closer to putting this thing together. Haven't had the time to hang out here much in the last couple of weeks and I'm jonesing to get back into my bikes. Here's what I've gotten recently:

• Sapim Race spokes arrived, and will be laced cross-4 on my Normany Luxe hubs and Sun CR18 rims
• NOS Stronglight Competition bottom bracket 123mm to better fit the TA crank (the Gipiemme is just too short)
• NOS Universal brake levers with original, very nice hoods. These are Campagnolo-style and look good! Cost about what a set of hoods was going to be for the SunTours.
• Very good condition Campagnolo Nuovo Record seat post 27.2mm
• ADGA leather saddle from my Dad's old Peugeot. I have a lot of sentimental attachment to this!

I'll post more when it's being built!

Karl

I sure live in an awesome town, b/c one just like this, full original, was leaning on the shop window unlocked a couple weeks ago. the grey blue paint scheme is very cool.
Never told what you gave in US Dollars for the bike, but you seem happy and it looks super cool.

To tell you the truth I don't know how much it cost to put together. I paid upwards of $300 for the frame set and then used and changed components until I got the result pictured above. I'm not sure I want to know!

I was driving by one of my favorite riding spots, Mission Bay Park, one day and saw a man riding a very pristine looking Raleigh Pro. I wish I could have stopped him to check it out, but I was in no position to do that. Maybe I'll see him again someday.